Public Statements

Floor Speech

Mr. SHERMAN. Let me first correct the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Gohmert, when he says that this bill would make the Social Security trust fund less solvent. Every penny that the Social Security trust fund doesn't receive from payroll taxes it gets from the general fund.

But let me especially correct him when he says, oh, the other way to pay for this is by canceling the TARP bill. We canceled the TARP bill six months, seven months ago. He voted against the bill, but that bill passed, was enacted, and returned $225 billion to the Treasury. Having done that once, we can't make money by just doing it again.

The Republican Senators held this country hostage, they held the middle class tax cuts hostage, they held the American economy hostage. President Obama agreed to pay the ransom. Now the question before this House is, do we block that ransom payment?

The problem is that if we do not make the ransom payment this month, President Obama will be willing to pay just a little bit more next month. So today we will do what we have to do.